Anilae in Hoenn
by LadyofNonSequitur
Summary: Anilae falls into the Pokémon world! How will she and the typical Pokémon journey co-exist? ... My guess- they won't. An unusual journey for an unusual trainer...
1. Just another day

**Author's Note: Hello there! Welcome to the very first story fragment I've posted on ! I hope you enjoy it, and Anilae, since most, if not all of what I'll post will be parts of her story. And lots of other worlds- _Pokémon_ is only the first!**

**A warning: I haven't watched much of the anime, and what I have watched was before Hoenn, so my descriptions of locations are probably going to be more consistent with the games, though descriptions of individual buildings (which I can get from bulbapedia) will probably match the anime- this may or may not be important; I just felt I should mention it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Pokémon_ , Professor Oak, or any of the characters from the games, anime, or various mangas that pop up in this story. All other characters are mine unless otherwise mentioned...**

_Where am I THIS time?_ Anilae wondered as she spiraled down towards the ground. She didn't bother looking back up, knowing from experience that the gateway she'd fallen through would not be visible. Instead, she searched for a good landing place on the ground far beneath her. She spotted a small clearing in the apparently endless forest below. She dived towards it. She'd missed flying... but she knew she had to land. There was a pattern to this, and she'd slowly managed to remember it from world to world. She'd have just a little more time than she needed to land before the inevitable collapse- but it was based on how long she'd prefer to take to land, under normal flying conditions: the faster she landed, the more time she'd have to look around before she passed out. So she plummeted downwards, aiming at the small clearing. At the last instant, she spread her wings and slammed to a stop a foot off the ground. She closed her wings and dropped to the ground. For the first time, she looked at the clearing to see its contents, rather than its existence. A small human kid was staring at her, astonishment on his face. Anilae tried to think of something to say, quickly. Humans had this bad habit of jumping to wrong conclusions-

But before she could say anything, the kid threw a small red and white ball into the air and shouted,

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

A small yellow creature appeared, inexplicably sparking with some kind of energy. It stared at her, then began glowing and sparking more. This seemed purposeful... and threatening.

Anilae started to get scared. She also was suddenly very, very tired. She tried to say something along the lines of "No! I won't hurt you! Don't hurt me!" but she was too late. The strange yellow creature shot a blast of energy at her chest as she toppled over. She felt the bolt snap over her head, making the air smell as though a thunderstorm had just passed by. She tried to stand back up, tried to ward off the hours of sleep that were forcing her down. But she couldn't. The last thing she heard, as her eyes slid shut, was the excited voice of the kid shouting semi-nonsense.

"Aya! Aya! Come see this strange Pokémon I found!"

A short distance away, a teen-aged girl stared vaguely up into a tree. Without looking, she sat down on the rock behind her. Her eyes never left the tree. She waved a hand.

"I think I'm ready," she murmured. The creature standing next to her nodded slightly, its eyes also on the tree.

"Go," the girl said seriously. The creature leaped up, practically floating into the tree. Despite the apparent slowness of its movements, it reached the top of the tree in moments. The creature slowly looked around, giving the girl a chance to get used to everything.

-Aya?-

-Here. Go that way, Kiri.-

The girl and the creature (the Pokémon) both smiled. Finally, they were really getting the hang of this! Kiri leaped into the next tree, still moving even more smoothly and gracefully than normal, to make it easier for the girl to keep focused on her.

-This will really make battling easier...- Kiri commented eventually, -We'll be faster than ANYTHING!-

-Except other psychics,- Aya reminded her Pokémon.

-Yeah... but how often do we fight them? That's what other Pokémon are for!- Kiri exclaimed. Aya giggled.

-You know that's not true!- she pointed out, still giggling. -You need them to fight dark-types too!-

-Hmm, true.- This was a sobering thought, to the Kirlia. She hated being reminded of things she couldn't do.

.-Hey, Kiri. How long has it been? We should go find Tim. The brat's probably gotten lost in the woods somewhere.-

-Ok. Watch how I do this.- Kiri said, resting lightly on a friendly-looking branch. She reached out with her mind, searching for Aya's little brother. -See him?- she asked her trainer. -He's going towards that clearing. He's fine. But I'll still go there.-

And the psychic Pokémon leapt off the branch towards the little clearing. Aya, watching through her Pokémon's senses, was even more amazed at Kiri's speed. She had barely glimpsed a branch before they had bounced off it, heading unerringly towards her little brother and his Pikachu.

-What? What's that? What are they doing? That's not a Pokémon!- Kiri exclaimed suddenly, startling Aya. Their careful bond shattered, leaving Aya gasping for breath back in her own body in the place they'd started. She was on her feet and running almost before she realized it. What Kiri had sensed, at the last moment, was someone falling from the sky. Not a Pokémon, but not a human, either. And what she'd seen... was Tim getting ready to knock it down. With electricity. She knew she wouldn't get there in time, and she slowed to a halt, panting.

"Right. Pokémon trainer," Aya reminded herself, sparing a fraction of a second to whack herself on the forehead. "Swellow! Go!" she called, throwing a pokeball into the air. Her Pokémon appeared, staring curiously at her.

Where is Kiri? The Pokémon seemed to be asking.

"Kiri is that way, in a little clearing. We have to get there, quickly!" Aya told the Pokémon. Swellow nodded, and scooped the girl up. They flew towards the clearing much faster than Aya had been running, and about as quickly as Kiri was able to move.

"AYA! Come see!" She and Swellow heard her brother's shout at the same time. Swellow turned towards the shout and flew twice as fast. In less than 10 seconds, they were on the ground. Swellow instantly joined Kiri in standing protectively before the strange creature, glaring warningly at the confused Timmy and Pikachu. Aya, instead, turned to the creature.

It was a girl, that much was obvious. A girl who almost looked human... But she had wings.

"Aya, what's wrong with your Pokémon? Isn't that one cool? Pikachu hit it spot-on! I think it must be very rare!"

"Are you an idiot? This isn't a Pokémon! She's a person!" Aya snapped.

"No she's not. She has wings, Aya."

"I didn't say she was human. I said she's a person. Kiri and I think she's an alien." Before Aya said this, she hadn't known it, but she quickly decided that her subconscious (or Kiri) was probably right.

"Now c'mon. Help me! We've got to get her home! Who knows what damage your silly attack did!"

-Aya, Pikachu says he didn't really hit her. She passed out on her own, but Tim didn't see.- Kiri's voice whispered in her head. Aya glanced at the Pikachu, who looked sufficiently embarrassed at his poor aim to make that true.

"If you didn't hit her, why is she passed out?" Aya asked the electric Pokémon. Pikachu made a face and shrugged.

"Hey! You didn't hit her?" Tim asked his Pokémon, startled. The Pikachu shook his head sadly.

"Well, if she's not a Pokémon, that's probably best," the boy reassured his friend. He turned to his sister, "Aya, how are we gonna get her home?"

"Swellow could fly her back... But I'm not sure how I'll get home. Swellow can't possibly carry both of us..."Aya said, thoughtfully, "And your Staravia can barely carry you..."

-I could float her,- Kiri volunteered. Then we could fly with Swellow, like we did to get here.-

-You sure you can hold her up the whole way?- Kiri thought for a second, then nodded.

"Ok. So Kiri will float the stranger, and Swellow will carry us back. Ready?"

Tim nodded, his Staravia already out of its ball and looking at the strange girl with interest.

"I'll explain on the way, Jake" Timmy assured his Pokémon. "But let's get going now. I want to beat Aya home!"

Almost before he'd finished speaking, the flying Pokémon had launched them both into the air. Aya giggled, watching her brother and Jake vanish beyond the trees.

-Why does he like races so much?- Kiri asked. As always, she translated everything other Pokémon said for Aya's benefit... as long as Aya was paying attention, anyway.

-Cause he knows that I'll beat him unless he grows more,- Swellow said matter-of-factly. -Are we going? Can we hurry up already? I don't want them getting too much of a head start, since I'll be carrying you and Aya... and pulling the human-Pokémon.-

-Hey! You won't even notice that! I'll be floating her the whole way!-

-Yes, but I'm sure you can't alter wind resistance. Her wings will mess mine up. Even flying with only Aya makes it more difficult! Staravia already has a huge advantage!-

"Shush you two. It's not like we're actually racing. Kiri, let's get going," Aya interrupted before her Pokémon got even more distracted.

-Right- Kiri stared at the strange girl, and slowly she lifted off the ground.

-She's much lighter than I thought. This will be easy.- Kiri assured her trainer. -As long as Swellow can handle the altered air currents.-

-Hey!-

"Enough, enough! Swellow! Let's go home!" she cried, gesturing dramatically in the wrong direction. Her Pokémon both rolled their eyes. Swellow scooped Aya up, hovering a moment to let Kiri leap up to join them, the stranger floating apparently unaided behind her. They swept off in a flurry of feathers to catch Timmy and his Pokémon.

-It's just not worth it if we don't TRY to beat them home,- Swellow explained cheerfully as she accelerated.


	2. Professor Oak?

**At Aya's home...**

"How do you two DO this? I send you out into the forest for a few hours, so you can train your Pokémon, or play, or both, and you two return with mysterious objects, or rare Pokémon no one's ever heard of, or having befriended the NOT AT ALL local legendary Pokémon that no one has seen for thousands of years... or with priceless artifacts from the beginning of time... or you tell me that you've been defeating people who planned to take over the world, or were chopping body parts off Pokémon, or whatever... or you come back with some strange girl with wings."

"Hey! We've only done two of those things!" Timmy complained. Aya grinned.

"Three, but you don't remember 'cause you slept through it!"

"What? No way! What'd I sleep through?"

"I met a Lugia!"

"Lugia? Don't those live in Johto?" Timmy asked, confused and perfectly willing to be sidetracked.

"Yep! It was awesome. He let me fly around with him for a bit, once Kiri had convinced him that I had NO _EMPTY_ POKEBALLS, and that I wouldn't dare try to catch him, anyway."

"Kids..." their mother sighed. "Fine, fine. I exaggerated. But tell me again what happened."

"Well..." Timmy and Aya began simultaneously. They glared at each other, and had a brief, non-verbal argument which Timmy won. He tried again... only to be interrupted by their front door swinging open.

"Hello? I'm sorry to intrude like this, but I believe my expertise might be necessary," said a voice from just out of sight.

"I'm sorry; we're having a private conversation. Can you come back later, please?" their mother called back, frowning. "That voice... he sounds familiar..." she muttered.

"Clara?"

"What? No way! Professor?" Clara (Aya and Timmy's mother, obviously) gasped. "How did you find me?"

The interrupting stranger walked quickly into the room as he spoke, "I had no idea you were here, dear. I merely received a semi-anonymous note that said I should get to this place in this region by today at 4PM. I had no idea what I'd find! I certainly didn't know WHO I'd find! Though it's no surprise, really. You were always the best at-" He stopped midsentence, staring at the unconscious, winged girl stretched out on their sofa.

"Professor Oak?" Aya exclaimed, "Mom, you know him?"

"... Like from the TV show?" Timmy whispered to Aya, "Really? Like the Professor Oak from Kanto? Him?"

"Yes. Shh. Don't you recognize him?"

"You didn't know what to expect, did you, Professor?" Their mother seemed amused. Oak shook his head. "I was just told in a manner I trust completely to be here. I was given no explanation- those usually become obvious very, very quickly. Has she been awake at all?"

"My kids found her. They said no... More or less."

"What happened?"

Aya stood up, timidly. "Um, Professor? Can we explain? Mom doesn't know yet, 'cause we just got home."

He smiled, "Of course. Please, tell me what happened. And your names, if you don't mind. We don't seem to have been introduced. I am Professor Oak, though I'm sure you two know that."

"Um, yes. I'm Aya, and this is my brother Timothy."

"Timmy!" Timmy corrected automatically, then ducked his head, embarrassed.

"Well, anyway. We were in the forest, about half an hour's flight in, training our Pokémon. I had gone off towards a place I like, and Timmy was a few minutes away... I have a psychic Pokémon, you see, and she makes sure I don't get too far away from him. Because Timmy's younger. Anyway, we were training when Kiri sensed something strange near Tim. We started back there in a rush, to find out what it was. Kiri got there before me, and when I got there Kiri was preventing Tim and his Pokémon from doing ANYTHING, and she was passed out in the clearing." Aya looked at the strange girl seriously, "Timmy thought she was a Pokémon, and he'd had Pikachu use thunderbolt... but it missed. She just passed out on her own! And then we flew back home with her," Aya explained quickly. "Kiri floated her home."

"Impressive," the professor said, "You two are very responsible young trainers. But you're sure she didn't say anything?"

Aya looked at Timmy. "Well, I wasn't there when she fell..."

Timmy shook his head. "She just fell. And looked startled. I thought she was a rare Pokémon..."

"Don't worry, Timmy. It's understandable. She does look... almost like a Pokémon," Oak said, smiling gently. They all turned to look at the girl.

Almost as if she could sense them staring, she suddenly sat up. She didn't seem to be very concerned to find herself inside and not in the forest. Instead, she rose shakily to her feet.

"Thank you for helping me," she said calmly. "My name's Anilae. I am Hanewl. Can you understand me?"

They all stared blankly at her for a moment. Then Professor Oak stepped forward.

"Yes, we can. I am Professor Oak. Can you understand me?"

Anilae visibly relaxed. "I can! Oh, I like this world already. What was that yellow thing that I think attacked me? Did it hurt that kid?"

"The thing that "attacked" you was something we call a Pokémon. This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon. We humans live alongside them-" He laughed a little, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, let me explain properly. Pokémon are sometimes like pets, friends, and whatnot. And sometimes... Well, people and Pokémon partner up and... compete in battles. I study Pokémon; that's my job. The thing that tried to attack you was this child's Pokémon, Pikachu. Timmy thought you were a rare Pokémon, you see."

"I'm sorry! Pikachu is too! But he didn't even hit you!" Timmy exclaimed. Anilae smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Worse things have happened." She looked serious again almost immediately. "You only have humans and Pokémon here?" she asked Oak. He hesitated, then nodded.

Aya watched Anilae as the others got braver and began talking. Timmy asked all sorts of questions... and introduced her to both his Pokémon almost immediately. But Aya was confused. This girl was just a little older than she was, as far as she could tell. Yet there was something ...off, besides the wings. Without looking, she released Kiri from her pokeball.

-Aya? She woke up! What's wrong?-

-Her voice is weird, for starters...- Aya thought at her Pokémon. Kiri stared at Anilae for a moment, before turning back to Aya, shocked.

-It is! She's telepathic. You hear what she means, not what she says. It sounds like she's speaking Pokémon! That's impressive. No one I know can do that.-

-That's what I thought. And why is Professor Oak here? He lives in Kanto. And he got a random note saying he should come here? It's ridiculous.-

"I'm sure we can find you a Pokémon of your own, to start with," Timmy was telling Anilae. "Professor Oak gives people starter Pokémon all the time!" The professor chuckled.

"Well, only if Anilae was intending to stick around. I get the feeling she won't be here long enough to become a trainer. It would be unfair to her Pokémon, if she left them after only a few weeks or months..."

"Yes... I have no idea how long I'll be here," Anilae said. She stared at Oak, a strange expression on her face. "How-?"

"I'm sorry, I think Anilae and I have to speak in private for a bit. Would you excuse us?" Professor Oak said seriously to Aya and her family. Before they could do anything but nod, the professor had pulled Anilae with him back outside. Almost before Aya thought it, Kiri was following them.

"How do you know how long I'll be here?" Anilae asked as soon as they were safely outside. "How did you know to be here? Who are you, really? Why did you hesitate when I asked how many type of creatures live here? And why CAN I understand you? I don't remember learning your language…"

Oak waited for her to run out of questions. Once she'd stopped, he said nothing. He stared vaguely toward the horizon for a moment, thoughtfully.

"Here. This paper ought to explain some things," he said calmly. Anilae blinked. Where had that paper come from? She took it, cautiously. A single glance revealed nothing unusual about it. Of course it was something she could read! The note said... and she paused.

"This... this is written in MY language. Not yours. I know the language you speak... I don't recall learning it, but I know it… and I know I can't read it. Why do you have a piece of paper with my language on it?"

"It came with the note for me, telling me to find you. You should read it, I think. It will explain things that I can't. And I get the feeling you might be able to be a Pokémon trainer, after all." Oak smiled kindly. "The person who sent both notes is, after all, very fond of Pokémon."

Anilae stared at him suspiciously for a moment. Oak just smiled. Eventually, she gave up and turned back to the note. She read it three times, getting more, not less, confused and concerned as she read it.

"Why... No, how does this person know so much about me?" she asked. She stared down at her hands, twisting the note into elaborate, crinkly, patterns. Oak smiled.

"Don't worry about it. It's her job, in a way. Now, I think you'll like our world… but things will go better, if you plan to explore it, if you have Pokémon with you. For one thing, humans will attack you less often, if you can prove you're a trainer, and not something to catch. Though Pokémon might attack you more often… Hmm… Well, that's irrelevant. I can give you a starter Pokémon, if you wish. In fact, my friend practically asked me to. And… I will be able to take care of your Pokémon, if you leave suddenly and cannot take them with you. My friend will let me know, and I'll have arrangements made."

"I… um…" Anilae frowned thoughtfully, staring at the sky. "Actually… I guess I _would_ like to learn more about this world." She turned back to the professor. "And ESPECIALLY your strange, secretive friend."

"I wish you luck, then. I don't have Pokémon for you here… so you'll have to travel back to my lab with me, so you can choose. And… you may want to hide your wings."

Anilae looked baffled. "Hide? Wings don't hide." She pointed over her shoulder, "See? They're much too big for that!"

The professor stared blankly at Anilae for a moment. "Yes… I see. Well then, if you can't hide them… we'll think of something." He glanced down at the paper in his hand. _She doesn't know,_ it said, quite clearly, in letters large enough for Kiri to see from her hiding spot. _Don't worry about it. It's subconscious, like the telepathy. _Oak nodded slightly.

"Let's go in and tell your 'rescuers' what you've decided. I'm sure the two kids will be delighted to teach you all about Pokémon."

"Okay…" Anilae agreed, actually examining her surroundings for the first time. Her eyes, much sharper than any human's, spotted Kiri in the tree above their heads.

"Is that a Pokémon?" she asked the professor, pointing. He nodded, without looking, already walking back towards the house.

"It's probably Aya's Kirlia, Kiri. She's been watching us the whole time. Don't worry about it; they were just curious."

Kiri nearly fell out of the tree.

"Oh. So what are other Pokémon like? I've only seen Timmy's. How will I choose? How many will I have to choose from?" Anilae asked, turning to follow Oak back into the house.

Kiri and Aya ignored them.

-How the HECK did he know you were there?- Aya's thoughts practically shouted. Kiri nearly fell out of the tree again.

-I don't know! But what bothers me more is that he knew my NAME! And he knew what I am! I've never met him! You didn't show him any of your Pokémon!-

-Yes, but I did mention your name earlier, remember? I told him what happened when we found her…-

Oh, right. I wasn't really listening…-

-But still! He shouldn't have been able to see you!-

-He COULDN'T see me. Anilae must have ridiculous eyesight to have glimpsed me! I'm hiding behind leaves that are the same color as me! And I wasn't moving!-

-Huh… That's true. But maybe we should worry about something else.-

-Like what?- Kiri asked, honestly confused.

-Like that note he had. You saw it. One second it was blank, the next it had… a very strange message on it. What was it talking about?-

-You're right. It made no sense.- They both thought about this for a moment. All they could agree on was that the whole thing was strange. Very strange.

-Honestly, what should we expect? A girl with wings and blue hair fell out of the sky, followed closely by the MOST FAMOUS AND IMPORTANT Pokémon professor in the world… who your mom knows yet never mentioned? Today is absolutely insane!-

-True… true…- Aya jumped, startling her mom and brother. -Shoot! Kiri, Tim and I are kids, relatively new Pokémon trainers, and have met Professor Oak. We are soooooo going to have to go on a long, grueling-yet-fun-interesting-and-exciting Pokémon journey with our new friend, the girl with wings!-

-You think?-

-Yes. There's no chance it won't happen. You know his reputation.-

Kiri nodded carefully, -Yes, but he usually discovers horribly inexperienced yet very promising kids... you and Timmy are both much too experienced!-

-Anilae isn't. She first saw Pokémon a few hours ago when Pikachu 'attacked' her.-

-But she and the Professor both said that she isn't likely to be here very long at all… and I get the feeling she's too old, anyway. She looks at least 18.-

Suddenly, an appropriately-timed question snapped Aya's attention back to reality. Her mother had just attempted to guess Anilae's age.

"Actually, I'm 30…or I was when this mess started. I might be anywhere from 30 to 38 right now. That makes me… um… more-or-less equivalent to what you consider a thirteen or fourteen year old. We age a bit differently than you do, so I'd be starting a long journey around the world right now, with my friends, if I was home…" Anilae sighed. "I wonder if they've gone without me?"

-We are DOOMED!- Kiri and Aya cried simultaneously.

Clara stared at the strange girl, flabbergasted. "You… You… You're practically my age? You might be older than me?"

"No! No! Don't think of it that way!" Anilae said quickly. "Look, Hanewl age differently. We spend thirty to forty years as what you would call 'teenagers,' but before that we age much faster than humans. We're pretty much capable of living on our own at six or so. We don't, but we could. I'm basically the same age as your daughter, mentally and physically. In that respect, how many years I've lived is irrelevant. I'm just a teen, with wings, from another world, okay?"

Clara nodded, slowly. "Alright. I'm sorry- that just surprised me."

"Don't worry about it, Mom," Aya said pointedly, glaring at Professor Oak. "You won't have to deal with her much at all. Timmy and I are about to be asked if we'll be her guides on a Pokémon journey. Right, Professor?"

Oak nodded, smiling. "Well, yes. I can't say I'm surprised that you figured that out. But I would have expected you to be happier about it. Don't you want to see the world?"

"Of course I do! But on MY terms, not yours. I don't want to be famous just because you sent me off on my journey… and I don't want that for Timmy, either." Tim stared at his sister, shocked. She was turning down an offer from THE Professor Oak?

Oak, however, looked unsurprised. "Of course not. You don't want to be famous because of me. But I think it won't make much of a difference. You'll be famous because of what you do, or I wouldn't help you. Anilae will be famous for existing, since she's something we've never seen before. It won't matter to her, since she won't be here very long. But you and Tim will be known as her friends. And I think that that will overshadow even me. But you'll have to do amazing things even so, to be remembered as yourselves. And I don't believe that that will be a problem for you two." Oak smiled widely, suddenly.

"After all, I'm NOT starting you on your journeys, am I? You two already have Pokémon. In fact, if I left right now, Anilae would still get a Pokémon. You two, or your mother, could help her catch one. I'm merely saving you some time, and offering you a brief trip around the world."

"Um..." Aya frowned at the professor. "But that doesn't make sense. If the people you start in their journeys don't... but that's why you're famous, isn't it?"

Oak laughed. "Oh, no! I was famous long before Ash! Only, I was primarily famous for my research and discoveries, not my ability to choose promising young Pokémon trainers and send them off into the world alone!"

"Yes. That's how I know him, Aya. I used to go with my aunt and uncle to help with his research, long before I met your father. Long before I was a Pokémon trainer, in fact. But I wouldn't let him give me a starter; I insisted that I would catch my own!" Clara smiled at the professor. "And I did!"

"Professor, it's ok. If Aya doesn't want to guide me around your world, I'm sure I'll be fine on my own. It's not like I'm a toddler. So if you'll give me a Pokémon and a map, I'll head off to explore. It'll be fun."

Aya and Timmy gasped.

"Everyone'll think she's a wild, legendary Pokémon!" Tim whispered to Aya. She nodded, wide-eyed. "We can't let her!"

"No, we'll go! It's not safe for someone unfamiliar with Pokémon to wander around on their own!" Aya cried. Anilae stared at her in confusion.

"Wait, but-?"

"Very well then. Let's go: my helicopter will only wait so long," Oak smiled sheepishly, "I might have told the owner that it was a life-or-death situation... he'll be worried if I'm not back with an explanation soon."

"Hey! We weren't going to hurt Anilae!" Tim exclaimed angrily. "Aya, tell him!"

"I know you weren't. But I didn't know what the problem was, and it sounded urgent." Oak explained. "Anyway, that's irrelevant, now. Let's get going, so Anilae can learn what all this is about."

Half an hour later, the five of them were gathered in front of Oak's helicopter, Aya and Timmy with backpacks full of important items, both for their Pokémon and for themselves, and Anilae with a brand new, mostly empty backpack and a few absolute essentials for Pokémon training, donated from Aya's extensive collection of supplies, and from her mother's old adventuring gear.

Anilae tugged at the backpack's straps irritably, obviously uncomfortable with the whole idea of a bag COVERING one's back.

"How am I supposed to fly with this thing?" she asked Clara, yet again. She'd been asking this repeatedly since first trying it on. Somehow, none of the others had gathered their wits enough to point out that she WASN'T supposed to fly- that was the whole point, after all. Instead, Clara muttered something about not NEEDING to fly with it... which made Anilae look at her strangely.

Professor Oak interrupted what would surely have turned into a rant about the idiocies of forcing someone with WINGS to wear a backpack, and the strange quirks humans had, by declaring that, since the helicopter was basically ready to take off, they should probably get into it. He had to yell this pretty loudly, since they were standing in the wind directly under the spinning blades, and no one seemed to want to argue with that.

Clara gave Aya and Timmy each one last hug before pushing them gently towards the helicopter. They followed Anilae up into the cab, turning around to wave as they reached the door. Anilae was taking advantage of her telepathy to ask Oak (and the pilot) questions about how the helicopter worked and what it was powered by that they couldn't possibly answer, the noise from the engine overwhelming any possible shout, as the pilot slowly lifted the helicopter off the ground, They swung around towards Kanto, slowly, giving Timmy and Aya plenty of time to wave down at their mother, and generally be excited about flying in a helicopter, before leveling off and accelerating back towards the Pokémon Professor's lab.


	3. This is a Pokemon

**Author's Note: So, this chapter has some bits that will probably be confusing for those not familiar with Anilae and her people... I've tried to make it clear and understandable... but if it's not, just tell me. It's not completely vital that you understand yet, anyway. **

**About Anilae and her culture: One thing I don't think I've mentioned is that Anilae (Well, everyone from her world) can actually see/sense 'genetic' relationships (It's in quotes because their genetics are different- don't worry about it) because it helps identify people who can be ANYTHING. It's mostly magic, and works even on other species. This sense makes it completely impossible to imitate any other real person- it just can't be done. The best shapeshisters can create made-up family trees fro themselves (people can see them to different degrees, but everyone can see at least two generations in every direction) but they can't copy someone else's. **

**Also, since Anilae's people are shapeshifters... Well, their terms for sentient pretty much mean 'able to talk,' or 'able to communicate in general.' If something can speak, even if you cna't understand it, that someone/thing has all the rights and protections of every other speaking creature. **

**About the pokemon world: I spent waaay too much time when I first wrote this thinking about how the Pokémon world's society actually works. This chapter begins to describe it. And please ignore the bit about Oak's lab only having one door. It's there 'cause I wrote it based on the games, then checked bulbapedia for a picture of his lab in the anime... I left it 'cause it amused me.**

* * *

><p>''So this is Pallet Town, in Kanto. That house over there is where Ash Ketchum lived when he was growing up..." Aya and Timmy, of course, stared in awe at the perfectly normal house. Oak smiled. "His mother still lives there, of course, with her Pokémon."<p>

This, being completely meaningless to Anilae, failed to catch her attention. Instead, she watched the helicopter take off and fly away with a worried frown. She'd seen similar machines flying about in various worlds she'd been to, but she hadn't known... They were really machines, not living things in that odd shape, or magical devices AT ALL. And she didn't like the way it flew. It was too loud, too awkward... much too heavy to fly. She dragged her attention back to the humans as they approached the largest building in the town.

"And this is my lab, where I study the mysterious ways of Pokémon.. when I'm not handing out Starter Pokémon to young trainers ready to explore the world. Come on in, children."

Aya and Timmy rushed inside, following the Professor happily into this famous building. Anilae hesitated for a moment, examining the outside curiously. She could hear the two human kids exclaiming over things inside, but this world... was just strange to her. Why had Oak, obviously someone very important in this world, been sent to find her? Why had he had a letter written in her own language AT ALL, much less that particular letter, full of stuff no one in this world should know? Why did she speak their language? She'd never learned it, that she could remember... Though that wasn't so odd, really. There were lots of things she couldn't remember from world to world. She didn't even know how many worlds she'd been to, so why should it surprise her that she didn't know how she understood one language. She shook her head and sighed. Would she ever get home?

Professor Oak came back outside.  
>"Are you alright, Anilae? I know this world must seem very strange to you..."<p>

She smiled weakly. "Don't worry about that, Professor. I'm used to it. This is by NO means the strangest place I've been. In fact... on the surface, it looks remarkably like one of the worlds I liked best..." She paused, frowned, and changed the subject. "Will you tell me more about this Pokémon training thing? It seems... really odd to me. What exactly is the point? What do we do, besides traveling around the world with strange animals in balls?"

"Come inside and I'll explain, Anilae. It's rather odd for people to stand in the street discussing things everyone knows." She nodded and followed him into the lab, where she abruptly stopped. She found herself staring at a absolutely gigantic room filled with gleaming metal, blinking lights, screens displaying indecipherable things, and a handful of people, none of whom seemed to notice that four intruders had just charged into the middle of their... whatever this was. A lab?

"Anilae?"

"What... What IS all this stuff?" she asked, staring wide-eyed around the room. The professor looked sheepishly around the room. He ran his hand through his hair, awkwardly.

"Sorry, I should have brought you in through the main door... the proper entrance is far more... typical. This is the main lab, where we conduct experiments on Pokémon...using these machines, mostly. That device over there is for healing serious injuries in Pokémon- all Pokémon Centers have one- we're currently trying to improve it, and, if at all possible, make it capable of healing humans as well, though the requirements for humans are quite different, of course. Humans, for some reason, cannot be transformed into data." He laughed again, strangely, as Anilae stared at him, completely baffled.

"Don't worry about it. Let's get you your first Pokémon! This way..." he gestured towards a wide doorway, beyond which Aya and Timmy were excitedly running around shouting indecipherable (To Anilae) things at each other.

"Here, Anilae, is where multitudes of young Pokémon trainers have begun their journeys. This room's sole purpose is to impress young trainers, and get them and their Starter Pokémon ready to head out into the world." Oak leaned towards her a little, and Anilae obligingly turned her head so he was whispering into her ear, "That is its ONLY purpose. Don't tell anyone, okay? I like to keep up appearances."

She frowned up at him, but nodded.

"Professor," she suddenly said, as he began walking farther into the room. "The building we entered... It only had one door."

He glanced back at her, obviously surprised.

"And... it was considerably smaller than all this."

"Well, yes. Please don't point it out again." He winked, then turned back towards the two human children, shouting. "Aya! Timmy! Come over here and tell Anilae more about pokemon! I need to set things up!"

The kids, distracted from their heated debate about which of the original traditional Starter Pokemon was best (Neither of them owned any of these) happily came over to where Anilae stood, still staring at Professor Oak's back in confusion.

Timmy grabbed at her arm, and she jumped. She hadn't noticed the siblings returning, and a hand grabbing at her... well, Hanewl don't like being trapped. And Hanewl can JUMP. Almost before she realized that anything had happened, she was horizontal in the air, a foot from the ceiling. She blinked, and her brain caught up.

"Umm..."

Aya and Timmy we both gaping up at her. Anilae winced. She dropped to the ground, almost a quickly as she'd taken off.

"Sorry... Um, Hanewl... we can't be imprisoned on the ground. And being startled... especially by someone grabbing you... We're hunters by nature; getting trapped on the ground is very dangerous..."

"But you said that the backpack-" Aya interrupted suspiciously, Anilae shrugged.

"Hanewl can ALWAYS fly. Always. Your world seemed to be a world without magic, so..."

"Magic?" Aya exclaimed.

"Do that again!" Timmy cried at the same instant, tugging at Anilae's arm again. This accomplished nothing, of course. Anilae and Aya were ignoring him.

"Yes, magic. I come from a world with magic. Tons of it. And-"

"Have you all told Anilae all about the mechanics of Pokémon Journeys? Because everything's ready over here!" Professor Oak called, distracting all three kids and jolting Timmy into action. He grabbed both the older girls' hands and dragged them towards the professor.

"I'll tell you about it all later," Anilae assured Aya as they let themselves be dragged towards Oak.

He was standing next to a desk, upon which a collection of items were neatly arranged.

"Here, Anilae. I made you a trainer card and programmed your pokedex, so that's all ready for you. Take these," Oak handed the Hanewl a thin card, complete with a picture of Anilae, though her wings were not visible. "It updates itself as you go along, keeping track of your badges and how many Pokémon you have. And how much money you have. Don't lose it- No one else can use it, but it's a hassle to replace these." He laughed suddenly, "If so much of our economy didn't revolve around Pokémon training, these would cost much more! Luckily for you, the minuscule cost has been taken care of."

Anilae examined the card, frowning.

"It's a game?" she asked sharply. "This whole thing is a game?" She glared up at the Professor. "This keeps track of- of- of my _score?_"

Aya watched this silently. - _Is_ it a game, Kiri?- she asked thoughtfully. -Parts of it are... but...-

-I... I'm not sure. Parts of it definitely are, and some people think the whole thing is... but most of the time, we don't think it is, or act like it is. The League's a game. All of them are. But pokemon training is deadly serious.-

-Most of the time.-

-Yes, most of the time.-

"Parts of it are a game, Anilae. The Pokémon League can be called a game. It's a competition. Trainers and their Pokémon work together to defeat the gyms, then assemble to beat the Elite Four and the Champion. But Pokémon training is not a game. Well, it isn't usually." He stared into space for a moment.

"Think of it this way, Anilae. You've been to many worlds, right? Did they all have some system that's world wide, that everything else is, directly or indirectly, based on? Or did you not notice anything like that?"

"I don't claim to be an expert on any of the worlds I've visited..."

"Then don't. Just tell me things you've noticed."

"... A lot of worlds are based on conflict. On _wars_." Anilae shuddered. "Wars define peace, for them. Those are the only states their societies know how to survive in: war, or preparing for war. Humans make wars!" she shouted suddenly, accusingly, at the Professor. "Everyone knows that! Why are there so many worlds of just humans? Doesn't anyone know how STUPID that is? With no limits- With no limits..." she stared at the ground, at her feet. "There are worlds out there where humans have destroyed everything, by accident, because of the mental issues they have. They have to have too much control- some of them have to know everything, and others don't want to know much. And all of them want more power over their surroundings. They wanted it so much that they created a world that people can't live in! They created a world where the very air was poisonous ALL THE TIME!" she paused for breath, realizing that she'd been shouting at these people, who all and all seemed to be friendly and know too much, "I've seen so many worlds where things were beginning to go wrong... and so few worlds where they got back on track... and too many worlds where there were only humans. Tell me, oh Pokémon Professor. What's so different about your world, that the most important thing is a game? And why do I have to play?"

"You don't have to play, Anilae. My friend just felt that you might want to. Or at least that you deserve a chance to say yes or no. And Pokémon training..." he sighed.

"You're quite right, Anilae. Humans as a whole thrive on conflict. If none exists, we tend to create it. In groups, or alone if we must. Though small groups of humans can limit these conflicts to reasonable, non-damaging levels... large groups are bad at that. Luckily, on this world, we are not alone."

He took a step back. "Perhaps you do need the whole introduction, after all. Listen, Anilae."

Oak pulled a pokeball from his pocket and released the Pokémon. A confused Marill bounced to its feet. She looked up at the humans (and Anilae) surrounding her and blinked.

"We're not sure how humans arrived on this world. All we're sure of is that we came from some other world, and that, when we arrived, this world was already inhabited by creatures called Pokémon. You've already met a few, Anilae. This is my Marill- she helps me introduce the idea of... well, of Pokémon training to those who know very little about it."

"You see, in the wild, Pokémon naturally strive to become stronger. They do this primarily by mock-fighting each other. Pokemon have many abilities that you'd call magical, and they use these in battle- Marill, use water gun on that wall over there- and somewhere along the line, humans and Pokémon first began interacting. Humans, of course had no such abilities, and... well, we imagine that those first meetings were an unpleasant surprise for both groups." As he continued speaking, Marill aimed carefully at a nearby wall, and began shooting gallons of water out of her mouth. The wall, though heavily reinforced, and made of some material not damaged by contact with water, obviously was used for this sort of demonstration a lot. The water drained away as Anilae watched the Marill, baffled.

"Anyway, the humans were very much at a disadvantage in their dealings with Pokémon, lacking any natural weapons or powers, and also lacking the natural healing abilities of Pokémon. The thing that saved their lives was the discovery that, working together, "tamed" Pokémon and humans could defeat wild ones and grow stronger faster. We believe this happened when young humans befriended young Pokémon, and discovered more interesting ways to channel the Pokémons' natural desire to fight, and the humans' natural need for conflict into battles that, overall, did very little damage and protected those things that the humans and Pokémon both loved. And so Pokémon training was born!"

"We have a very peaceful world, you see. There ARE no wars, here. Our technology has as little impact on the environment as we can manage... and what damage it does we can fix, with the help of Pokémon"

"Wait... The way you're talking about Pokémon.. They talk?"

"Well, yes. Pokemon have a very complicated language, full of inflections and such, that consists almost entirely of their own names."

"You... you force intelligent-speaking-willful-independent beings to fight each other?" Anilae cried, horrified. She took a step back, obviously perfectly willing to leave in a flash.

"It's not like that!" Timmy said quickly.

"It's-" Aya began, a bit slower than Timmy to speak up.

"Stop! Calm down!" someone else shouted. Anilae jerked her head, trying to decide who said this last. Her eyes finally fell on Professor Oak's Marill, who was staring up at her intently.

"Good, you can understand me. Professor Oak thought you might. Listen, okay? It's not like that. Pokemon who don't want to fight alongside humans don't have to. Most Pokémon live in the wilderness, and humans occupy only some very specific parts of the world. And many, many Pokémon live with humans as part of the family, without fighting- most of those started out as part of a fighting team. Pokemon that hang around humans want to be captured, if the trainers can defeat them. But if you catch a Pokémon that doesn't want to fight... you release it if it wants to leave, or just don't ask it to fight. Unless there's something wrong with either the trainer or the Pokémon, they become very close. The worst criminals in the world are those who force Pokémon (or humans) to fight and do things against their wills. Most Pokémon, you see, like to fight. And we like the journeys as much as our trainers do: Most people want to see the world, right? And yes, you can play-fight with other Pokémon in the wild, and it's fun... but you get to learn even more powerful techniques with a trainer, even if your trainer is no good at battling at all. And you learn interesting things in general. Pokemon in the wild have little use for most of human technology, but it is not at all rare for a injured wild Pokémon to be taken to a Pokémon center by a friend or parent instead of a trainer- and some Pokémon actually have jobs and get paid- a lot of Pokémon work with police, for example- so you see Pokémon buying things in Pokémarts all the time, and no one would try to catch them. There are SERIOUS unspoken rules about such things; even criminals, 99% of the time, will fight the Pokémon they catch. They might not defeat them fairly, but they will fight, giving the Pokémon warnings. And normal trainers only catch Pokémon who want to fight. I know I said this already, but it's important. I heard the way you asked that; I'm guessing your world has people who..."

"We have no slaves," Anilae interrupted. "But... I've been places that do. And we have very SERIOUS unspoken rules about what can be done with various types of intelligent creatures. We're shapeshifters; you have to know the risks if you take a shape that doesn't speak."

"You're shapeshifters? That's very awesome! Ditto will love you!" Marill giggled. "Maybe it'll even like you enough to be your Starter! It certainly would be suitable!"

"Ditto?" Anilae asked. "What's a ditto?"

The humans kids had watched in confusion as Marill chattered away at Anilae, who gave every indication of understanding the small water Pokémon Oak just stood, listening, and smiling a little. Marill was very good at calming down angry Pokémon; obviously she was equally good at calming down anyone who could understand her.

Anilae was completely focused on Marill, and speaking her own language, so none of the humans could understand her comments, but a name doesn't need to be translated.

"A Ditto is a Pokémon, Anilae," Oak said, smoothly reinserting himself in the conversation. "They can become any shape, and learn any move. They're very rare."

Anilae blinked up at him- somehow, she'd forgotten anyone else was in the room. It took her a moment to process what he'd said, and then all else was forgotten.

"They can... take any..." she stared in horror at the Pokémon Professor. "Can I meet a... Ditto?"

"Of course! Let me just go get its ball..." Oak wandered back out of the room, presumably to get his Ditto. Only then did Anilae remember the human kids. They were both staring at her.

"You can understand Pokémon?" Timmy asked incredulously. "But you're an ALIEN! Why can you understand Pokémon? Aya cheats, but you don't even HAVE a psychic-type!"

"Wh-What? Understanding Pokémon.. They don't speak your language? But I thought-" Anilae gaped right back at Timmy. "It SOUNDED like your language!"

"It wasn't, Anilae. It's really hard for humans to understand the Pokémon language. It consists of them saying pieces of their names in meaningfully inflected ways. I know how to recognize a few basic words and phrases on my own -Kiri translates for me, mostly-... but you have to really work at it to learn more. Even someone like Professor Oak probably only understands a fraction of what Pokémon say to him," Aya explained.

Anilae frowned thoughtfully. "That explains-" she began, but before she could finish, Professor Oak charged back into the room.

"Here, Anilae! Meet Ditto!" Oak said, releasing the Pokémon from the pokeball in his hand. In a flash of light, a small pink blob with a face formed on the ground before the Professor. It looked up at the humans surrounding it, noticed Anilae, and smiled hugely. Before any of the others could react, there were two Anilaes standing a few feet apart. One was smiling her head off. The other- looked traumatized.

"But- You- That's IMPOSSIBLE!" Anilae glared at the Ditto so angrily that Aya fully expected something to catch fire. "You can't be me! I'm ME! And I have no siblings!" The ditto cringed away from the angry Hanewl, its smile quickly vanishing. "Who are my parents?" Anilae shouted at it, pointing at her own face. "You copied me! You should know better!" The ditto shrugged.

"Anilae- Ditto can't speak our language even-"

"I apparently understand Pokémon!" Anilae retorted, still glaring at the confused, terrified, impostor. "Answer me! Who are my parents? What is my mother? Who are YOU?" The ditto shrank in on itself, returning to its natural shapeless-pink-blob state.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," it told her, its little eyes flicking from the angry Hanewl to Professor Oak and back again. "I just turned into you because I've never seen anyone like you before. I've heard..." it glanced up at the professor again and changed what it was saying. "You looked interesting. Oak told me a little about who you are and how you came to be here... I'm sorry I freaked you out, and apologize if I've seriously offended you."

Anilae just stared at this... thing. This creature who had just done something truly impossible. Something..._wrong_. It was a Pokémon? It was- and there she stopped. She couldn't believe this thing was a Shifuto. They could hide their relationships, but they couldn't pretend to be someone else. They couldn't pretend to be her. This was something strange, some feature of the rules of this world that she was not at all sure she liked.


	4. Matchmaker

**Author's Note: So here's what you've all been waiting for: Anilae gets her first Pokémon ! (If you WEREN'T all waiting for this, don't tell me, ok?) Of course, you won't actually MEET her Starter 'til the next chapter... ^_^;;**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own everything but Pokémon , Professor Oak, and the geography. ...I think that covers everything.**

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><p>"Professor... Can you tell Aya and Timmy are related?" Anilae said, finally, turning away from the ditto. He lifted an eyebrow, but shook his head. Anilae nodded slowly.<p>

"Can you?" she asked Marill. The Pokémon shook her head, too.

"Why?" Marill asked Anilae seriously. The girl closed her eyes, shivering.

"In my world-" she began, only to be interrupted by a loud slam. They all turned towards the noise- it was the door they'd entered the lab through, slamming shut after someone else's hurried entrance.

"Professor!" a girl's voice shouted. "Oak! Where are you? I need-" the shout cut off as the source of it caught sight of them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll wait. It's not that important," the girl said, blinking in surprise as she took in Anilae's wings and the general state of tension/confusion in the room. Aya happened to glance up at Oak's face as the girl stopped in the entryway, so she caught the strange expression that hovered there for a fraction of a second. It was... Surprise? Amusement? Sudden understanding? She poked Kiri in her thoughts.

-What?- the Pokémon grumbled. -I was asleep!-

-I noticed. Wanna come out and watch this?-

-... Yeah.-

With a smooth, well-practiced movement, Aya released Kiri from her pokeball. The kirlia materialized on the floor behind her trainer, and they both turned their attention back to the rest of the room.

The strange girl had walked over to join the group standing around the still-confused Ditto.  
>"Oh, are you handing out Starters?" she asked, spotting Marill hiding behind Oak's legs. The professor nodded, shrugging.<p>

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked her calmly. "How's your journey going?"

"Oh, you know," the girl giggled. "Same as always." She turned to Aya, Timmy and Anilae.

"Hi, I'm... Call me Kanrisa. I'm a pokemon trainer, obviously." She gestured behind her, obviously intending this to illustrate her point somehow. When the kids continued to give her blank looks, she spun around.

"Oh, zut! They-" Another loud crash rendered the rest of her sentence inaudible. "Oops. Professor-" She spun back towards him as what sounded like a stampede crashed through the outer room of Oak's lab. "Will you forgive my Pokémon for breaking down your door?"

"If they fix it, of course!" Oak assured her, staring worriedly over her shoulder. "But they wouldn't REALLY knock down my door, would they?"

Kanrisa shrugged. "No, probably not. They DO know how to open doors, after all! Charmeleon even has hands!" She turned around just in time to see a small group of Pokémon all galloping towards her (Or flying, in the case of the Pidgeotto).

"You guys didn't knock down the door, did you?" she asked them seriously. They all shook their heads.

"I knocked the door open with whirlwind!" the Pidgeotto explained excitedly. Kiri translated this for Aya, quickly. Anilae frowned.

"I told you not to..." the charmeleon said pointedly, glaring sternly at the flying Pokémon. Kanrisa laughed.

"As long as you didn't break it, everything's fine!" she assured the Pokémon.

"What's whirlwind?" Anilae asked Kanrisa. The strange girl jumped.

"You understood her?" she exclaimed. "Professor, this girl can already understand pokemon! She'll be an amazing trainer! Is that why she's here?"

Oak began to say something, stopped, and shrugged. "More or less."

Anilae looked a Aya.

"It's a move, a flying type move," Aya explained, slowly. This required more explanations, as Anilae had somehow misunderstood the whole thing about trainers telling Pokémon what moves to do. She and Timmy dragged her outside to show her what a Pokémon battle really was as Oak and the strange girl talked.

"Why are you here, S-Kanrisa?" Oak asked, once he was sure the others were distracted.

"Did you really think I'd plop her here with no help? Besides, I know I told you Ditto would be perfect, but as I thought about it, I realized..."

"Oh. So you didn't expect... that?" Oak nodded towards the still shell-shocked Ditto sitting motionless on the floor.

"No. I should have, but... well, I guess I didn't think it through. I was worried; it seemed for a moment there that Anilae would refuse the journey. It still seems like this might not be the... well, nice little break she needs." Kanrisa leaned down and scooped up the frozen ditto, petting the top of its blobby head gently, looking anywhere but at the Professor.

"You thought a Pokémon journey would be a nice little break?" he asked, incredulously.

"Well... parts of it. Having Pokémon is NICE. And sometimes battles are really fun! I thought... but I'm not sure how this will go, now. So I decided to step in. Though I would have, anyway, at some point. It's funny, you know." She was still focusing on the ditto in her hands- the Pokémon shivered a little, and stared up at her for a moment, before extending itself in a way that indicated its desire for a hug. The trainer complied instantly, folding the ditto (which quickly transformed into a teddiursa) into her arms.

Oak smiled warmly at the girl. "Yes, of course I know. Why else would I still be here. This world..." Kanrisa finally looked away from the ditto, returning the professor's smile.

"I know. It's nice. And exciting. And pretty darn peaceful. Anilae needs this- you can see how stressed out she is. You don't have to know her to see." Kanrisa frowned for a moment. "She's in worse shape than I thought..."

"Yes... I figured you'd made a mistake..." Oak agreed, smiling at the girl, "Everyone does, from time to time." She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Ditto won't do. She'll have to pick her own starter." Kanrisa stared thoughtfully after the younger kids for a moment. Ditto pulled away from the hug, and she dropped it carefully to the ground. The girl and the professor watched as the ditto waddled away, waving over its shoulder as it left the room. Kanrisa watched it go her face utterly still.

"Don't give her a flying-type, Professor," she ordered finally, turning back to Professor Oak. "And don't give her anything with multiple forms, or anything genderless. And-"

"Kanrisa! Stop it!" he put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I AM good at my job! Go watch them. I'll take care of the rest." She smiled, nodded, and ducked out of his grasp to follow the others outside. As she reached the doorway, she paused.

"I've missed you, Professor," she said, turning back towards him.

Oak shook his head, slowly. "You're always like that. If you miss me so much, why don't you visit more often?"

She shrugged. "Even I have limits- there's so much to do, you know?"

"Yes. Now go watch them! Give me ten minutes to choose some Pokémon that might suit a bird-girl from another dimension."

She nodded and ran out the door.

15 minutes later, Anilae, Aya, and Timmy were back inside the lab, waiting impatiently for Professor Oak to reappear. Well, that's what Aya and Timmy were doing. Anilae was thinking about the whole concept of Pokémon training. There was obviously something she was still missing- it was completely obvious, now, that her new friends' Pokémon had no objection to battling- they all seemed genuinely to be friends, and to have fun- Aya had had Kiri demonstrate the astounding healing abilities of Pokémon, unaided, and helped along by strange substances Aya called 'potions.' And Anilae had been perfectly able to understand anything any of the Pokémon said. This, especially, confused her. These Pokémon were obviously thinking, speaking creatures! And just as obviously, they enjoyed fighting each other for no good reason that she could see, save as practice for other fights. Everything Marill had said seemed to be true! But that Ditto could transform into HER! That was... beyond weird. That was impossible! That shouldn't be! And they claimed that a ditto was just a normal Pokémon? There were always things that were different about the worlds she visited, but that was ridiculous. And why did they want her to go on a Pokémon journey, anyway? The logic behind the whole thing... none of this made SENSE!

"Ah, Anilae. You're ready? I've selected some Pokémon I think you might like better than Ditto. Here." Oak walked back into the room, holding something flat and rectangular. He handed it to Anilae.

"This contains images and information about the Pokémon I think you'll like. Just touch an image to get more information. Tell me what you think."

Anilae stared blankly at the tablet. _I don't know anything about Pokémon! He can't be serious! _ She poked at it, and the list of images was replaced with a larger image of something Anilae assumed was a Pokémon.

"Oh... what? These are just the first nine starters..." Aya said, peering excitedly at the screen. She poked a icon, and the larger image shrank back down as the other Pokémon reappeared. "Just the normal starters... That's Charmander... Squirtle... Bulbasaur. Those three are the Kanto Starters of typicalness..." Aya explained, pointing at each Pokémon in turn. "And these are the Johto starters..."

Much to her own surprise, Anilae found herself fascinated by Aya (and Timmy's) descriptions of the Pokémon on the screen. But she didn't understand what was supposed to make her prefer one over the others... The siblings seemed perfectly happy to discuss the differences between some Pokémon named Charizard and another named Blaziken for hours, leaving Anilae none the wiser about the Pokémon on the tablet. _Why can't I read this language, if I can understand it? _she grumbled to herself, poking the Pokémon on the screen at random, watching them appear and disappear. There was nothing meaningful to her on the screen, besides the images themselves... and those images didn't tell her much. Aya and Timmy seemed too busy discussing... something... Pokémon related to help her. She glanced up at Professor Oak, hoping he'd help her out if she caught his attention. He was watching her, smiling.

"Help?" she mouthed at him, trusting her telepathy to ensure he understood. His grin widened, and he made a small 'come here' type gesture. Anilae smoothly stood up, sneakily escaping from between the two humans and their heated debate. She left the tablet on the seat between them, not really having any desire to look at it any more. Oak nodded, and walked into a room filled with even MORE odd machinery.

"Sorry about that, Anilae," Oak said finally, "That tablet was mainly a distraction. I have the perfect Pokémon for you here... but I wanted to talk to you first." His smile faded a little.

"This Pokémon is very special. She... Well, suffice to say that the instant you yelled at Ditto I thought of her, and I think you and she suit each other perfectly. But... if you have a preference for some other Pokémon..."

Anilae shrugged. "There was nothing that stood out on that device. I don't know anything about Pokémon," she reminded him defensively.

"Right. Here." He handed her another thin tablet-thing. "This is the Pokémon I want you to have- a Misdreavus. She's what we call a ghost-type... and not at all the sort of Pokémon given out as a starter..."

Anilae cautiously took the tablet, staring at the rather odd-looking creature on the screen.

While she examined it, Oak continued talking. He seemed... worried, Anilae decided, trying to figure out what her opinion of this new Pokémon was, from the limited information available to her.

"I have to explain, Anilae, that normally I wouldn't even consider giving this Pokémon to someone... Someone I don't already know and trust. She's been here for quite some time, waiting for a trainer I trusted to show up. I'm only offering her to you because of how I learned about your existence... and because I really believe that you are the perfect trainer for her." He chuckled at Anilae's surprised expression. "Sorry: that you WILL become the perfect trainer for her... She needs someone different, and you are about as different as they come! But if you want a more normal Pokémon... it's your choice. Starters are very important, and I wouldn't want you to feel like you were being forced to take her."

Anilae didn't respond for a moment, still staring at the picture. Eventually, she looked back up at Professor Oak.

"I really don't know, Professor. My whole life's been one thing after another forcing itself on me, for... who-knows-how-long. And I really don't feel like I know enough about your world to make a decision that seems so important. But..." she glanced out at the room Aya and Timmy were still busily arguing in, "I didn't really find any of the Pokémon on that other list interesting... and this one certainly seems... well, something. And the only thing everyone I've met today agrees on is that you are awesome at what you do... So I'll take this Pokémon. This Misdreavus."

Professor Oak nodded. "Here," he said, handing her a pokeball. "Your pokedex and trainer card are still in the other room... but this is the real bit. Once you take this, you're a Pokémon trainer. Good luck, Anilae."

She frowned at the ball in her hand. _What have I gotten myself into?_ she wondered. Looking back up, she smiled at Oak.

"Thank you, Professor. I guess we should go now..."

He nodded, and showed her how to shrink the pokeball, half expecting her to ask how it worked. But shrinking items are nothing strange to a Hanewl, so Anilae said nothing, just nodded and clipped the pokeball to the specially-made belt, which Timmy had explained. Without another word, she slipped back out to where Aya and Timmy were still discussing indecipherable minutia.

"I got my Pokémon; let's go." Anilae interrupted, after waiting almost a minute for them to notice her. The siblings jumped.

"Oh... already? Wow... which one did you choose?" Aya said, standing up and stretching.

"Oooh! Can I see?" Timmy asked, waving the first tablet around. "Didjya choose a water-type?"

Anilae shook her head. "Let's go; I doubt that Professor Oak's promise of transportation back to your home will last much longer..."

"Oh... Good point. Let's go, Timmy. you can meet Anilae's Pokémon later." Aya grabbed her brother's hand, pulling him to his feet.

Professor Oak was waiting at the door to walk them back to the helicopter.


	5. I chose you!

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long gap between chapters... Classes, work, and summer vacation prevented me from posting this... It's been almost finished for months now; I was just procrastinating! **

**Hopefully, it being much longer than the last chapter will make it up to you~!**

**Also, yes, I do mean this chapter's title to be "I chose you!" not "I choose you!" It isn't a typo. :)**

* * *

><p>The ride back was unbelievably... normal, much to Aya's disgust. It was still exciting to be in a helicopter... but the novelty had worn off a bit, and, really, it just felt... more like a train ride- a noisy, very high up and rather bumpy train, admittedly, but a train nontheless. Much less interesting and immediate than Flying, especially with all the <em>noise.<em>

She glanced over at Anilae, half-planning to try to get the strange girl to tell her what Professor Oak had said while she and Timmy were distracted... but Anilae seemed deep in thought, staring into nothing, intently. Aya found herself reluctant to even attempt to bother her, and Timmy...

She glanced fondly at her younger brother, smiling at the ridiculous sight of the 11-year-old and Pikachu sleeping sprawled across Tim's seat, both trying to use the other as a pillow. Timmy had always been able to sleep no matter what.

Her fellow passengers thus occupied, (For Professor Oak had sent them back alone, saying he had important work to return to) Aya turned to stare out the window, smiling absently at Kiri when her Pokémon leapt up on the seat next to her.

"This is it," she murmured, knowing Kiri would hear her despite the noise of their ride.

-This is it!- Kiri agreed, watching her trainer intently. -Are you worried?-

"No!" Aya blinked down at her Pokémon, surprised. "I'm just thinking... This isn't what I expected- what else about our journey will be strange? What happens if everything goes wrong?"

-I think you don't have to worry about it,- Kiri answered calmly. -Everything will work out exactly how it should! And you were never going to have a typical Pokémon journey, anyway! There really isn't any such thing, as far as I can tell.-

Aya shook her head slowly, a smile beginning to grow in the corners of her mouth and eyes.

"True, this is just a bit more... unusual than I expected!" She indicated the pensive Anilae with a glance. "And being sent off, sorta, by Professor Oak? It's- well-"

-Really cool!- Kiri finished for her friend, her tone indicating that there could be no arguments about this point. -Really, unbelievably cool! That's what it is, and I think it's a wonderful omen! ...Are we believing in omens this month?-

Aya giggled, and hugged her. "I don't know- I lost track. Let's say we are, okay? And you're right. I never wanted to go on a BORING adventure, anyway!"

**An hour or so later...**

Anilae walked along behind the human siblings, ignoring her surroundings. The small red and white ball in her hand held all her attention. The humans (and their Pokémon) had explained the purpose of these strange devices, how they worked, what it was like to be inside one, and the rules about capturing and releasing Pokémon, She still found it unbelievably strange. There was a living creature condensed to fit within this tiny thing? How? Who thought of this? Sure, Kiri had assured her that it was quite comfortable, being inside a pokeball, but why do Pokémon tolerate, even enjoy it? They don't get to see the world from inside their balls. She frowned. Why did she have to play along? She considered this for a moment, turning the ball around and around in her hands. Everyone seemed convinced that she should go on a typical Pokémon journey, beat the gyms (What were gyms? Why did she have to beat them? She'd have to ask later...) and the elite four, and generally do what most human kids her age did, here. But she didn't see the point.

Anilae stopped for a moment, underneath a convenient tree. She expanded her pokeball, as she'd been taught, then dropped it. Five miles away from Aya and Timmy's home, it was well past time for her to meet her Pokémon.

The ball bounced back to her hand after hitting the ground. She caught it automatically, watching as the white glow coalesced into the vaguely familiar shape of her Pokémon.

It turned slowly around, floating at about head height. When it saw Anilae, it stopped.

"Are you my new trainer?" it asked softly.

"Yes. I'm Anilae. You're ...Misdrevius?"

"No... Misdreavus," the floating creature corrected automatically. "Wait... You can understand Pokémon?" the ghost Pokémon exclaimed, drifting closer to this stranger- her trainer! Anilae shrugged.

"Yep. I don't know why- it probably has something to do with not being human. I'm Hanewl,"

"What?"

"Hanewl. I'm from another universe. Here, look." Anilae spun around, spreading her wings. "See? I can fly. And I've got convenient one-way telepathy." she paused. "Hey! Maybe that's why I understand you! I know a language you understand, so it reverses! That almost makes sense!"

Her Misdreavus gaped at her. "Wings...? So you're a Pokémon? But Pokémon can't be trainers... Another world? … You're an alien!"

"I guess so..."

"Wow! My trainer is an ALIEN! I knew Professor Oak wouldn't let me down!"

"Huh? You WANTED an alien as a trainer? That's... odd." Anilae responded, raising an eyebrow quizzically. The Pokémon copied her movement, inexplicably delighted by this strange new expression.

"Oh, no. I wanted an interesting trainer. Other Pokémon told me stories about Professor Oak, and how he was really good at matching starter Pokémon with starting trainers, so I decided to come to him and ask him to find me a trainer. I told him I wanted someone interesting, and he said he'd try, but it would take some time. I told him-"

Anilae held up a hand, interrupting the Pokémon. "Wait, Aya said that Professor Oak can't understand Pokémon."

Misdreavus smirked, "That's what they think! What good would he be if he couldn't understand Pokémon? It's his JOB! And that's part of why he's so famous- the Pokémon know he's there to help, and he's learned some amazing things (from the human perspective) that he only knows because Pokémon trust him. He's awesome, generally."

"Is he really? He just seemed rather strange, to me. But then I don't really get your world, so..." Anilae plopped to the ground, leaning against the convenient tree. "Why did you decide you wanted a trainer at all, Misdreavus?"

The Pokémon floated lower, too, perfectly happy to loaf around getting to know her trainer. "Well, I just did, you know? I lived in Mount Silver, in Johto. We got a lot of strong trainers training there, and, despite being kept away from them- I was only a baby, after all- I liked watching them battle with the other wild Pokémon. I would sometimes follow a trainer for a while, spying on the trainers and their Pokémon. And playing little tricks on them... It just looked like fun! But most of the trainers were so... focused on winning all the time. They were very, very good at battling, and their Pokémon were too- but they were REALLY easy to trick because they didn't expect things that weren't normal. But sometimes there would be a trainer who noticed me, even if I was invisible. And they would talk to me, and sometimes give me food, and other times just tell me not to bug them... but I knew that the idea of CATCHING me never crossed their minds. So I decided I wanted a trainer like that. And I knew that Professor Oak was my best bet, since I was young enough and weak enough to become a starter. And he was closer than anyone else- I just left Johto and flew to Pallet Town, and it was easy! Along the way, I saw plenty of trainers just starting out... and some were interesting enough that I almost went with them... but most were not. And I got to Pallet Town, and here I am! And here you are!"

"Hmm... So 'wild' Pokémon really do want trainers? Why?" Anilae asked, frowning up at the clouds. "Why is it so prevalent? I just don't see it..."

The Pokémon didn't respond for a moment. When she did speak, she practically whispered: "You don't want to be a trainer?"

"I don't really understand why anyone would want to. There's nothing similar in my world."

"Oh... It's just how things are, I think." Misdreavus answered thoughtfully. "It works. Pokemon are happy, humans are happy... I may have nothing to compare it to, really, but as a system to base society on, it works pretty well. It keeps people and Pokémon moving, exchanging knowledge, goods, and information, and just generally holds everything together. I honestly don't know much about humans, but I know that Pokémon, if left to themselves, will stay in one general area forever, or until something forces them to move. Pokemon training keeps everything moving, and helps keep the world interesting." She tilted her head a little, staring at her trainer. (Which, Anilae thought, looked very strange, Misdreavus don't have much in the way of necks, so she was basically tilting her entire self. It showed how little regard the Pokémon had for gravity, anyway.)

"What bothers you about it, really?"

"Giving orders," Anilae responded immediately, without thinking about it. "Commanding someone else to do something that might injure them, when it ISN'T actually necessary."

The Misdreavus blinked. "That's all?"

Anilae nodded, confused. The Pokémon giggled, and dropped down a few inches, to put her head more at Anilae's eye-level.

"You'll make a great trainer, Anilae. Really believing that Pokémon are people too is what makes a great Pokémon trainer. And there's something you should know about Pokémon- we don't see it that way. Battles are FUN, you see. And almost every battle ever is friendly- no one's really trying to seriously hurt another Pokémon. You fight with those you think you can beat, in the wild. It's how we get stronger: we can practice techniques and moves to grow, as well, but battles work better. And most of us want to get stronger as fast as possible. We heal so fast, compared to humans, that even the worst loss in the history of Pokémon battling would only keep a Pokémon from battling for a week, without Pokémon centers, or any kind of real medical assistance. It's very hard to kill us. Very, very hard." She frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

"In fact, all the Pokémon I know are alive!"

Anilae burst out laughing. "Is that so?"

The Pokémon smiled back, glad that her strange alien trainer had a sense of humor.

"So what's your name?" Anilae asked once she recovered. "I can't just call you your species all the time!"

Now it was Misdreavus' time to laugh uncontrollably, bouncing around in midair.

"What? What's so funny?" Anilae asked. The ghost Pokémon was still bouncing around in the air, and didn't appear to hear her question.

"Misdreavus! What's your NAME?" Anilae shouted. The Pokémon froze midair.

"Oh! I'm sorry- I thought you were joking! I don't really have one; you can call me whatever you like. Misdreavus is fine, really."

Anilae just stared at her.

The Pokémon shrugged, "Well, I HAVE a name... but it's secret. And you wouldn't be able to remember it, anyway. My parents called me 'daughter,' and I was never close enough to any other Pokémon to need a nickname... A bunch of trainers called me 'Cutie pie,' does that count?" She smiled at her trainer. "I'm sorry I laughed- I forgot you are an alien. Most trainers call their Pokémon by the name of their species- it works pretty well. Those that don't give their Pokémon nicknames." The Misdreavus frowned. "I'm guessing from your reaction that your people find names important?"

Anilae shook herself. "Yes... if you don't have a name, then all friends will know about you is your family... and what would you call yourself?"

"Interesting... Well, I have a name, truly. But I can't tell it to you... so you should think up a nickname for me." Misdreavus said.

Anilae nodded thoughtfully. _What would be a good name for this Pokémon I just met? I wonder what her real name is, and why she can't tell it to me... Argh, I suck at thinking up names! Um... other Pokémon names... Aya has a kirlia named Kiri..._ she giggled to herself. _I'm sure I can think of something better than that! Um..." _She looked up at the Pokémon, who was watching her intently, hopefully...

"Hope." Anilae whispered the word. It was perfect!

"Niera?" The Misdreavus repeated softly. "I like it! Does it mean something?"

"Um..." Anilae blinked. _I wasn't talking to her... Right, she wouldn't understand like that... But I... Wow, when I get back it's going to be difficult to remember to only speak one language at a time again... _

The Pokémon poked her gently. "Anilae?"

"Yes, Niera means hope," the Hanewl explained. "Sorry, lost in thought for a moment. You like it?"

"Hope... Yes, I think I do! Cool! I have a usable name now! I'm Niera the Misdreavus!" Niera shouted. She spun around in a circle, feeling rather giddy. In one day, she got a trainer, discovered that this trainer was an alien, awesome, could understand Pokémon, and very strange, and she got a name that was a word from a language only one person on the planet knew! This day was just perfect!

"I'm glad you like it, Niera," Anilae said, smiling up at the Pokémon. "We should-"

"Anilae! There you are! Why'd you stop?" Aya called. She and Timmy were running back, obviously worried and confused.

"-go catch up to the others..." Anilae finished, sighing. "Sorry, Aya... I got distracted..."

Niera looked at the humans curiously. "Oh. Are these the kids you're traveling with?"

"Yep. That's Aya, and her little brother's Timmy," Anilae told the Pokémon. She watched as they finally arrived, out of breath. They both stared at Niera, then at Anilae.

"That's... a... Misdreavus?" Aya asked slowly. "They don't... don't live here..."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Niera, Anilae's Starter," Niera said, smiling at Aya. Incredulously, the trainer glanced at her own Pokémon. Kiri, standing next to her trainer, nodded, just as wide-eyed.

"...Oak gave you a Misdreavus? Really? Wait, what?" How'd that happen? He-" Aya began.

"Cool! But I thought he was gonna give you a normal starter!" Timmy interrupted. "I'm Timmy, Misdreavus! Nice to meet you!" He held a hand up to the Pokémon, who nodded again.

"She's Niera," Anilae told him, mildly surprised, despite all they'd told her, that Timmy hadn't understood her Pokémon.

"Oh. Cool name! Hope!"

"No, NI-E-RA!" Anilae corrected him, saying each syllable clearly, distinctly, and pretending she was talking to Niera.

"Oh. But you said Hope the first time..." Timmy glanced at his sister for confirmation, but she and Kiri were deep in their own conversation.

"My telepathy translates everything I say normally..." Anilae explained. "Now that you know her name, you ought to hear it as Niera, not hope. Once I've spent more time talking to and about her, everyone should."

"OK! That's cool!" Timmy said, smiling up at the Hanewl. "Wanna meet my Pokémon, Niera?"

The Pokémon nodded, and Timmy's face lit up.

"Go!" he shouted dramatically. His Pokémon both popped into existence... and instantly started laughing. They'd popped out of their pokeballs behind him.

"This is Pikachu, and that's Jake," Timmy said, undeterred. "Jake is the fastest Staravia EVER!"

-I'm not, really- Jake corrected him quietly, which of course had no effect on Timmy. -He just thinks I am!- the flying-type looked at Niera . -So you're the alien's Pokémon? Nice to meet you!-

-Yep! Did he catch you? You aren't a starter...-

-No, I'm Timmy's starter,- Pikachu agreed. -Just as Kiri was Aya's. Jake and Swellow used to belong to their mother, but she gave them to her kids when they started complaining about how weak the Pokémon around their hometown were. So they could fly off to train, then come back.-

-Though she caught Swellow as a little Taillow of in the woods somewhere. I'm her Staravia's son!- Jake said proudly.

-Cool!- Niera said happily, -I've never met a Pokémon who wasn't born in the wild before!-

-Really?- Pikachu asked, surprised. -But Professor Oak gave you out as a starter...?-

-I'm a special case. I WANTED to be a starter! So I left home...- Niera's explanation trailed off as Timmy's Pokémon nodded their undrestanding.

"And he gave you to Anilae? Then why did he pretend that he was going to give her one of the traditional Starters?" Aya asked, interrupting the Pokémon.

-I... have no idea. Anilae, he did that?-,

"Yep," Anilae smiled suddenly. "It made perfect sense at the time!" Aya and Timmy exchanged confused glances, and Anilae giggled. "He did that to distract you two, I think. And also because he felt like he had to. But he told me that Niera was the perfect Pokémon for me, but that I had to decide..."

"When-?" Timmy began, and Aya sighed.

"We get WAAAY too involved in our arguments sometimes, Tim. But how did Oak know that?"

Anilae shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it. Professor Oak knows plenty of things he shouldn't: I think that's his job." The humans (and their Pokémon) stared at her blankly. Anilae ignored them.

"Shall we go? I'm sorry I stopped... but I wanted to meet Niera... and it didn't occur to me that..." Anilae stopped suddenly. "It didn't occur to me that it was horribly rude. Oops." she closed her eyes, wincing. "Sorry. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm accountable to myself, much less to other people. I spend too much time... alone."

Niera looked at her trainer, concern and confusion showing on her face.

-Alone? You... But you're an alien! Didn't you...- the Pokémon paused. -Anilae, how did you get here?-

Anilae cringed. "I really hoped you wouldn't ask me that. I hoped... But, of course, people are curious... I really can't explain right now- There's too much you guys don't know about... well, me. My world. Can I explain later, when I'm not just a novelty? When we actually know each other as people? Believe me, I have much more experience with this than you ever will... and it's hard for everyone involved." She sighed, "I've had to explain this to more people, on more worlds than I can remember... and every time-" Anilae paused, her eyes meeting each of the others' for a moment, "every time, it hits me again that all I really want is to get home, and with each world I land in, there's always the brutally fleeting hope that, _this_ time, I've come home. And each time, when I open my eyes again on a world that stubbornly refuses to be my own, I feel like that hope fades away a little more. I can imagine never getting home at all- or, at the other extreme, getting home and not recognizing it. And I can't decide which is worse, or which is more likely. So... please wait a bit. I'll explain eventually."

Anilae stared down at her hands, waiting for some sort of response. _Please let them not ask_, she begged desperately of any god-type being that might be listening. _I really can't stand having that conversation again already. I really can't. I think if they ask I'll just fly away, and Niera can follow if she wants. I don't want to be here! Why can't I just go home?_ Inside her own head, Anilae flew up above the clouds, yelling these words at the sky, the best form of stress relief Hanewl had ever discovered. In Hoenn, Anilae shuddered and started to cry.

The others stared at her awkwardly. She had a point. They hardly knew her- how could they be comforting? What could they say? They hadn't even-

-We thought you were here by choice,- Niera said softly, awkwardly. -At least I did, and I'm sure they all did too, from their expressions. I'm sorry, Anilae.- She nudged the Hanewl's head, gently. -It's ok. You can tell us everything you want to... later. I'll tell you funny stories about my life, instead, ok?- The others nodded, or made other indication of agreement.

An awkward silence fell. No one knew what to say, so no one said anything, until Aya gathered up her courage and changed the subject.

"Anilae... We should get going, if we want to get to the next town before sundown. We can talk there- or not, as the case may be. But you'll get a better feel for our world once you've seen a REAL Pokémon training hot spot- the first gym is there," Aya said, reaching a hand towards the older girl, hoping to distract her- and that a distraction was what she needed.

For quite some time, no one did or said anything. Then Anilae jumped to her feet.

"Right! Pokémon training. Let's go, so you can explain this stuff to me!" She grabbed Aya's still-outstretched hand and pulled her to her feet. She did the same for Timmy, when he held out his hand.

"So which way were we going?" Anilae asked, looking around. "I got kinda... distracted."

Aya spun around in a circle. "Um..."

"That way!" Timmy cried, pointing towards a dark, forest-y area. Anilae stared at it, doubtfully.

"Surely I would have noticed if we were going somewhere so... gloomy..."

-Tell Timmy that that's absolutely NOT the way to where we are going...- Kiri told Aya quickly. -We were going... um... that way!-

Aya repeated Kiri's words out loud, and Niera shook her head.

"No way. You guys came from over there before!" she gestured in a third direction, completely unrelated to the other two.  
>"Uh... oops..." Aya said, staring in the direction the Misdreavus pointed. "I... don't know! What's the matter with me?"<p>

"Aya, how do we get home?" Timmy asked. He stared around the forest, wide-eyed. It wasn't very densely forested... but the path they'd been following was only an obvious path while you were on it.

Anilae rolled her eyes. "This is ridiculous. One sec." Before the two humans or their Pokémon could turn to look at her, she was gone, shooting straight up into the air above the trees.

Aya whacked herself on the head. "Right. Flying Pokémon." She glared at her brother's Staravia. "Jake, why didn't you point out that we could just fly there?"

The Pokémon jumped, staring back at his trainer's older sister.

-Uhhhhh...-

-Jake?-, Kiri asked, staring into the sky, obviously tracking Anilae.

-I thought you'd think to ask me! _I _know where to go; I thought you guys were joking!- the Pokémon explained awkwardly. -I didn't know she could REALLY fly!-

"Good point, we should have asked you..." Aya sighed. "Kiri, you can tell where Anilae went, right?"

The kirlia nodded. She pointed in the direction Niera had pointed before.

"Oh... well, let's go then," Aya said, starting to walk towards the town. Everyone else stared at her.

"What? We have to go catch up to Anilae! She can't just go off by herself!"

Timmy climbed on Jake's back, recalling Pikachu. He stared pointedly at his sister. Aya slumped.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked the world in general. "Kiri, return!" she said as she released Swellow from her pokeball.

She climbed on Swellow's back, then pointed dramatically upwards. "Follow that alien!" she cried, her giggling ruining her perfect dramatic pose.


End file.
